Engagement Party Crashers
by IdiAmeanDada
Summary: Keiichi has finally proposed to Belldandy. Their plans for a private engagement party to commemorate the event are crashed by a number of uninvited guests, including the Norn's uncles! How will he survive! Rated T for some language, just to be safe.


**Ah! My Goddess: Engagement Party Crashers  
By IdiAmeanDada**

Ah! A Prologue!

At the very top of the tallest hill in the city of Nekomi Japan, sits probably one of the most peculiar Buddhist temples in the world. It was not for its intricate carvings or statues that we called it such, nor for the building's architecture, which was actually quite old. No, this temple was unique because it was a residence. Four very interesting people lived in this once holy place. While the locals considered them kindly folk, they also gave the building a wide berth. Many strange lights and mysterious explosions seemed to emanate from the place from time to time, putting in people's mind ideas of sorcery and witchcraft.

If they only knew how close they actually were to the truth! That's because three of the four inhabitants of the primary residence were actually goddesses. Not in the form of some starlet from a movie or supermodel that graced the pages of a fashion magazine. They were actual deities, whose beauty far surpassed the afor mentioned mortals. To top that off, they were all sisters as well.

Living with these three powerful women was a rather unassuming fellow named Keiichi Morisato. At five foot three, he was short even for average Japanese men. He often used to lament about his horrible luck with women (thanks in no small part for setting his sights too high). In fact, it was rumored that the only dates, if you would call them that, he got before he made it to college were with his younger sister.

However, there was one thing that this man possessed, something that no one else in the world ever has, or likely ever will: the love of three sister goddesses. They didn't love him in a sexy, haremy, can't let kids watch kind of way. Each of the siblings' love was unique, and he in turn, returned that love. However, he did have eyes for one very special goddess.

It wasn't for the oldest goddess, Urd. Master of potions and self-professed goddess of love, the silver haired deity could actually be a pest at times. Her favorite past time was meddling in the affairs of others in general, and Keiichi's in particular.

It wasn't for the youngest goddess, Skuld. If you needed something built, this one was the one you need to talk to. She was a master at building extremely complex machinery from the simplest of components. The littlest goddess also had a mean streak a mile wide, which brought her in conflict with Keiichi whenever he got too close to one particular person.

For some time, these two goddesses weaved a destructive dance through his life. Most people would have kicked them to the curb, despite their powers and flawless looks. He didn't do so for two reasons. One, it was not in Keiichi Morisato's character to do any such thing. The second was that he was madly in love with Urd and Skuld's middle sister.

You see, many years ago, sitting there all alone in the dorms, he was visited by the goddess Belldandy. Clad in her white dress and blue overcoat adorned with yellow triangles, the chestnut haired goddess batted her blue eyes and sang praises of the mediocre man. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise that he was immediately smitten by her. She was there to grant him a wish, and foolishly, he asked for "a goddess like her to stay by his side forever". Even more foolishly it seemed at the time, the wish was granted. After getting over the initial shock, she was perfectly fine with it. She was rather smitten with him as well.

Now, I'm not going to go into the gory details of what happened next. There are books you can read if you want that will get you caught up. Suffices it to say that over the years, their love grew, but at a snail's pace. Only recently has it flourished due to certain events, which culminated in them being tested by the goddesses' father. Don't know what happened? READ! All that will be said is this; since then, Belldandy and Keiichi have been a lot more open and forward about their relationship.

All of that led up to an announcement that shocked everyone who knew him: Keiichi asked Belldandy to marry him. Last night, in fact! It was sufficiently romantic and cheesy, I won't bore you with the details, although it can be said that Keiichi singing with a fifth dimensional whale as backup was part of it.

No, that's not what this story is about. You see, what happened after was MUCH more entertaining. It all led up to Keiichi doing something so crazy and unbelievable, that it very nearly shook the foundations of heaven.

-1-

It was morning at the Tariki Hongon temple. As the sun began to filter through the windows of the residence building, two goddesses were already awake. One, Belldandy, was normally up at this time. Despite the late night with her beloved Keiichi, she looked radiant as she stepped out of her room and into the central hallway. Humming quietly to herself, she hung a left and made her way to the kitchen to start breakfast.

As she disappeared, another door slid open. Quite a bit more disheveled then her younger sister, the goddess Urd stepped into the hall. She was still wearing her night clothes, which normally displayed her quite impressive bust. However, she also included a purple robe that covered ever so slightly more. Silently, she glided down the hall towards the front door.

Next to the entrance was a small table. This was the location of the lone telephone of the residence, a rotary job that probably would make a better museum piece. Glancing back down the hall towards the kitchen to make sure Belldandy was not observing, Urd flicked a loch of her silvery white hair out of her eyes and turned back to the phone. Picking up the receiver and putting it to her ear, she dialed a sixty-three digit number that she knew by heart and smiled when the intended person picked up after the second ring.

"_Yggdsasil System Administrator; Peorth speaking! How can I help you!"_

"Peorth! It's Urd," announced the silver haired goddess quietly, her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

_"Ah! Bonjour mon ami!" _replied the person on the other side, who then shifted into a quieter, more conspiratorial tone. _"Has anything scandalous happened recently?"_

Covering the receiver more, she sighed into it. "No, not yet. You know them. That probably won't happen until they've been married for twenty years." Glancing back down the hall to make sure it was safe, she continued. "Speaking of which, he finally did it last night!"

_"He did what last night?" _replied the feminine voice. She then shifted out of her vaguely French accent into a more natural tone, indicating that she was both interested and annoyed._ "Quit being vague and tell me!" _

"He finally popped the question to Belldandy!" Urd exclaimed. She was then forced to remove the receiver from her ear. Holding it at arm's length, she could still hear the excited squeeing on the other side of the line.

When it finally died down, she brought it back and got bombarded. _"Mon dieu! How did he do it? Was it romantic? Knowing him he just blurted it out after being a gibbering wreck and working up to it for the entire day. What did she say? What am I saying? Of course she said yes! Didn't she?"_ Peorth finally paused for a breath. _"Details. Give. Me. Details!"_

"I can't right now," replied Urd with a whisper. "We are having a little party tonight, sort of a 'private thing'," she said, imitate quotations with her free hand. "Bell would love it if you came!"

"_Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world! What time should I be there?"_

"I'd say about seven."

_"Wonderful! I'll be there with my bells on! Ciao!"_

With a smile, Urd put the receiver back on its base. Peorth, for years, had effectively been a partner in crime when it came to pushing those two together. And while it ended up being Belldandy who finally made the critical move when she canceled the original wish and helped him to instate a new, much more permissive one, the two gladly took some of the credit for it finally happening. If it weren't for them, they reasoned, she would have been content with the status quo for the rest of the man's life.

"Who was that?"

The goddess whirled around and is confronted by none other than Keiichi himself. Already clad in his Whirlwind work fatigues, the brown haired man gave her a questioning look. "Oh, that was Peorth," she replied with an innocent look and smile on her face. "I was just inviting her to our little gathering tonight."

Keiichi hrmphed as he ran his hands through his unruly mop of hair. "As long as it's just her."

"Oh Keiichi, you're such a party-pooper," scolded Urd as she moved past him on her way back to her room.

"I'm serious, Urd," replied Keiichi. "I want this to be a private affair with just the family. Please don't invite anyone else."

The silver haired goddess sighed in frustration. "Oh alright, I won't invite anyone else as long as you go get me a couple of bottles of Fallen Angel for tonight."

"Deal," replied Keiichi as he watched her enter her room. She gave him a quick wink as she closed the door, which unnerved him. _I hope she doesn't have one of her schemes running._

XXX

On another plane of existence, one much higher than that of the Earth, three women sat at terminals that very much resembled golden harps. Each of them faced a central table that served a holographic representation of Yggdrasil, the heavenly supercomputer which organizes and runs the universe. All three wore different variations of a blue and white uniform that denoted the goddess' status as operations support technicians.

One of the trio with short, silvery hair sighed audibly. All three could hear the current on-duty system administrator, Peorth, gushing about something on the phone. "Ere, what do you think that is all about?" she whispered to the woman beside her.

The second goddess, with long black hair, glanced back to her. "Not sure, Ex. No telling what she is talking about now."

"Does she always do that?" asked the third goddess as she pushed back a stray lock of her braided, golden hair. She was new to the group, having replaced the goddess Chrono who had moved on to a new position.

"Orchil, when it comes to Peorth, distractions are always around!" quips Ex, causing the other two goddess to giggle lightly. All three turned back to their work and tried to tune out the rambunctious administrator. Maintaining Yggdrasil was an important job, made somewhat harder for the two veteran members as they tried to bring the newest tech up to speed. As they refocused on the tasks at hand, none of noticed the approach of the afore mentioned goddess.

"I just heard the most exquisite news!" exclaimed Peorth as she floated down to the three in her systems administrator console chair. She was clad in her normal attire, which was little more than black bikini bottoms with a matching top along with her customary leather wings that encircled her arms and fastened around in front.

"Oh! Whatisit! Whatisit! Whatisit!" exclaimed Orchil excitedly as she bounced up and down in her chair.

"Well, I don't think you would know Keiichi Morisato and Belldandy, do you?"

The blonde goddess stopped and gave it some thought. Before she could say anything, though, she is interrupted by Ex. "Did they finally do more than just hold hands?"

The silver haired goddess's quip elicited a giggle from Ere. Orchil, on the other hand, looked back at the pair in confusion. "I don't get it."

Peorth chuckled to herself. "You would have to know them to understand," she replied to the new trainee. "So, anyway, I just wanted to pass on the news that he finally asked her to marry him!" The black haired goddess watched as the two experienced operators squealed in delight. Their blonde counterpart just stared blankly at them. After giving everyone a moment to calm down, the lead admin continued. "They are having a party tonight at 7PM local time." Having delivered her message, she floated off to another corner of the cavernous room.

Ex looked over to Ere. "Should we call Chrono?"

"Doesn't she start Silver Wings training today?"

As she took out her phone, the silver haired goddess nodded. "I think so, but maybe I can catch her before they start."

XXX

Outside a large, single story building on what could be considered the outskirts of Heaven, the Valkyrie Lind stood waiting for someone. As she flicked the longer of her two light blue bangs out of her eyes, she noticed another goddess land just below the steps she stood on. The newcomer had short cropped black hair with a slightly violet sheen to it. She had on the same white Valkyrie uniform Lind was wearing, with the addition of a dark blue vest with gold buttons and a black leather belt. Even though they were both goddesses and therefore immortal, it was obvious that the one at the bottom of the stairs was older.

"So, late as usual, I see," commented Lind with a serious tone as she glared down at the darker haired goddess.

Stopping up short, the newcomer locked eyes with the Valkyrie, narrowing them in defiance. "You of all people should know that I am never late. I arrive precisely when I mean to."

Both goddesses stared each other down for a moment. Finally, the one at the bottom of the steps cracked a smile. "Lind! How the hell are ya? Not so serious anymore, I hear?" She then glided up the stairs and embraced the light blue haired goddess, who returned the gesture.

"I have a new lifelong friend to thank for that, Ma'am."

The new arrival held Lind at arm's length and smirked at her. "You of all people should know not to call me that," she replied. "Especially since you outrank me now."

"It's been a long time, but the respect will always be there, my friend." Lind stepped aside to allow the dark haired goddess to pass. "So, are the new recruits ready?"

"Let's go check, shall we?"

Lind smiled and followed the dark haired goddess into the building. Since she had become the commander of the Silver Wings, she had made it a point to sit in on the first day of recruit training. She rationalized to herself that it was to get a look at the new faces she would be commanding down the road. However, as often as she told herself that, she also understood that it was also for nostalgia purposes. Unlike most valkyries, she had fond memories of her time here, under the same commander she was following in now. As they passed the threshold of the main door, a valkyrie recruit standing behind a podium in the center of the foyer snapped off a crisp salute, which was returned in the same manner by the two goddesses.

As they passed the guard, yelling could be heard from behind one of the doors to the right. Lind and the dark haired goddess looked in through a window to see thirty recruits in blue grey training jumpers all standing at attention in front of their beds. Three other goddesses, each in valkyrie uniforms with the same blue vest were running around yelling orders at the others. Instead of the black belt the dark haired one was wearing, each had white belts and wore dark blue campaign hats.

The dark haired goddess waved her hand slightly and produced a similar cover and slid it onto her head. One of the three valkyries in the room came to the door and opened it for her. She stormed into the room like a tsunami, glaring menacingly at the occupants as she passed. Lind snuck in behind and stood off to the side. Instantly, she recognized one of the recruits, a blonde haired former Yggdrasil technician she had personally recommended.

Stalking down the center of the room, the black belt clad valkyrie glowered at each goddess as she passed. From a distance, Lind could see some of them return her gaze with as much ferocity as they could muster. Others seemingly wilted before her eyes. When she reached the opposite end, she turned and spoke for the first time. "Welcome to Silver Wings training, scumbags. I am the senior drill instructor, Master Sargent Arlee. From now on the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be sir. Do you fairies understand!?"

"Sir, yes sir," comes the half-hearted response.

"BULLSHIT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU, SOUND OFF LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" is the reply, this time with a lot more gusto.

Satisfied, Arlee started to walk back up the row in front of the of goddesses on her right. "If you ladies finish my training, _if_ you survive, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death, praying for Ragnarok." She stops momentarily in front of a pair of bleached blonds, both of whom maintained their composure, barely. She moves on. A couple of bunks down, she whirls on a tall goddess with bluish-green hair. "But until that day you are no longer goddesses!" she screams, causing the taller one to visibly flinch. She moved down the row to a shorter one with black hair. "You are the lowest form of life in any dimension! Gnome farts have more standing that you."

As she stared into the eyes of her latest victim, she snorted at the lack of reaction. Satisfied, Arlee stepped away and continued her monologue as she approached the front of the room. "In here, we do not discriminate. I don't care if you were First Class, Second Class, or any other class of goddess out there. Here you are all equally worthless!" The drill instructor crossed the room, and started to walk down the opposite side. "And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Wings! Do you fairies understand that?"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

Before she could continue, a song sounded off to the beat of Beethoven's fifth symphony.

_Pick up the phone….  
Pick up the phoooone…._

Arlee screamed down the aisle towards the sound like a goddess possessed. "WHAT IS THAT?! What in the name of the Diamakaicho's crusty underwear is that?! Who's the sorry sack of lower demon shit that just signed their own death warrant?!" From afar, Lind watched with interest, then groaned when she realized who the drill instructor had zeroed in on.

"Sir, it's my phone, sir," replied the blonde goddess.

"Holy crap!" exclaims Arlee as she grabbed her hat, acting surprised. She then stepped up close to the offender. "Who could be calling at a time like this? What's your name, dirtbag?

"Sir, Chrono, Sir!"

"By the Almighty's right hand, how do you still have that phone? And why are you so special that they would call you now of all times?"

"Sir, I don't know, sir!" Even from her distance, Lind could see the fear in her protégé's eyes.

As the phone continued to sound off, Arlee stepped back and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at the blonde goddess. "Well dumbass, don't just stand there with your hand in your crotch, answer it!"

Tentatively, sensing it was a trap, Chrono produced the phone and answered it, never taking her eyes off the glaring drill instructor in front of her. "H-h-h-hello? … Yeah, it's me. … Um, yeah, kind-of not a good time right now. … He did?! … Holy crap, that's so awesome! … Tonight at seven? … Yeah, probably not, but thanks!"

Before Chrono could react, Arlee reached up and snatched the phone away from the blonde goddess and puts it up to her ear. "YOU LITTLE SCUMBAG! THE NEXT TIME YOU CALL THIS NUMBER I WILL PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND KICK YOUR ASS SO FAR UP BETWEEN YOUR SHOULDER BLADES THAT WHEN YOU WHISTLE THE SOUND WILL COME OUT YOUR BUTTHOLE! NOW GET OFF MY TRAINING TIME!"

The drill instructor threw the phone against the wall behind Chrono, then steps up, inches away from her face. "AND YOU, YOU THINK YOU'RE SPECIAL? YOU THINK YOU'RE ABOVE THE REST OF THESE ORC PILES?"

"Sir, no sir!"

"BULLSHIT I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! FROM NOW ON YOUR NAME IS DIVA! YOU'RE SO SPECIAL, I BET YOUR MAMA CALLED NASA TO HAVE A STAR NAMED AFTER YOU, DIDN'T SHE!"

"Sir, no sir!"

"WELL THEN I BET YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN CHEATED! SO TELL US, DIVA, WHAT WAS SO FAN-FRACKINGLY IMPORTANT THAT THEY HAD TO INTERUPT MY TRAINING TIME WITH ALL THESE OTHER LOWER LIFE FORMS?!"

"Sir!" starts Chrono after taking a deep breath. "Keiichi finally asked Belldandy to marry him, and there is a small party tonight at the temple! Sir!"

"Well, no shit," quips Arlee as she leans back away from Chrono. "I don't know what kind of a soap opera you're staring in, Diva, but you better by the Almighty stow it or I will personally rip your angel's wings off and beat you with them. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I'll be watching you!" The drill instructor stared Chrono down for a few more moments before she moved on to the next recruit that needed a dressing down.

Lind heard none of it, having tuned out the tirade when the news was announced. _Keiichi asked Belldandy to marry him?_ She wasn't quite sure why, but that made her a little sad, despite the joyous occasion for her lifelong friend. She momentarily glanced back to Arlee, who was in the process of forcing two recruits to do one hundred pushups. Smiling to herself, she silently head to the door and slipped out of the room. She had to make an appointment with The Almighty.

XXX

Daimakacho Hild was bored out of her mind. It was time for the monthly meeting with Asgard to go over dispersal of shares on the human world between the realms. While each side tried to maintain a balance between the two, neither had any qualms with trying to sneak in an inch here and there to shift the balance to their own advantage. This necessitated this infernal meeting to go over the discrepancies. With her elbow on the ornately decorated obsidian conference table, she rested her head on her hand and sighed while playing with a lock of her silver hair with the other.

Sitting across from her, the demon Alistair glanced at her but otherwise paid no heed. While Hagel was her number two, Alistair was her right hand man when it came to dealing with Heaven. During the wars that preceded the establishment of the doublet system, he made a name for himself as an excellent interrogator. One reason for the black haired demon's success was his nearly all white eyes, which he used with great success to intimidate his targets.

With the wars over, Alistair threw his heart and soul into his new role of Lead Negotiator of Nifelheim. Using his former skills, he excelled at his task. Straightening the collar of his ornate purple with gold lining tunic, he leaned towards the conference phone receiver. "So, help me to understand," started the demon. "One of your goddesses grants the wish of some obscure quarterback whom the fans think is a bust. He then magically gets better and leads his team to win the league's championship, and you just happened to _miss_ the fact that this would have the secondary effect of increasing the happiness of all the mortals that root for the team?"

"_Wait, so now you expect all of our goddesses to predict the future?"_ came the retort from the other end of the line. Alistair's opposite number from Asgard was the Goddess of War, Freyja. In the time before, she was known as The Seductress by the demons, also being a love goddess. She tempted and lured many a demon to their deaths using her feminine wiles before the cessation of hostilities.

Alistair sighed audibly. "No, but I would think everyone knows that increasing the skill of the single most important player of a football team _could_ have an impact?"

"_Alistair, love of my life with your pearly eyes,"_ purred the goddess. _"You should know that the supporting cast was just as important. Their running back had over seventeen hundred yards!"_

The white eyed demon growled under his breath. While the party on the other side of the line would not have caught it, Hild did, and she smiled. The two had some history, having fought each other in single combat many millennia before. Freyja won, but stayed her killing blow. When asked why later, she said "_I was mesmerized by that demon's eyes._" The very thing that struck fear in most, she found alluring. Ever since then, she has flirted with him incessantly, much to Alistair's chagrin. It was probably the very reason that He chose her for the position in the first place.

"_Enough_," commands another on the other side of the line. It was unmistakably the voice of the Diatenkacho Tyr. "_The demon realm has had its share of wishes with secondary repercussions. Consider this reciprocation for the boxer that was granted a demon contract to unify the championships. I understand he is now been jailed?"_

Alistair glanced at Hild, who just flipped a strand of her silvery hair out of her face. "He's got ya there," she says with a shrug.

The white eyed demon grumbled to himself and turned back to the phone. "But still," he says, not willing to concede the point yet.

Tyr was having none of it, though. "_Discussion on this subject is over. Please hold for one moment as another matter needs my attention."_

As Alistair lets out a defeated sigh, he hit the mute button and slumped back in his chair. Ever vigilant, Hild perked up as she noticed that they had not done the same after announcing the break. She turned up the volume so she could hear better. The first thing that came from the other side was a content sigh, followed by the voice of Freyja. "_He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me…." _Hild snickered at the demon as he rolled his eyes and stood.

"I'm getting a drink," he said as he pushed the chair back in, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"It's so cute, though," replied the Daimakacho with a mischievous smirk. She sent flowers to the goddess before the meeting, anonymously of course, which caused all kinds of hand wringing and consternation as Alistair vehemently denied doing it at the start of the meeting. Just as she had suspected, Freyja did not believe a word he said.

As the demon left, Hild could hear Freyja's voice droning on. She was obviously plucking the petals of one of the chrysanthemums in the arrangement, which was why it was taking so long to reach the end. Then her voice trailed off as she apparently decided to step away from the table herself. The silver haired demon closed her eyes so that she could concentrate more on what was being said in the back ground. There was a voice that sounded like Lind. Then, she heard Keiichi and Belldandy, and ….. something else. She mulled it over in her mind until a thought came to her on what it could be. _Oh, this is too delicious!_

After a moment, there was a rustling on the other line, then Tyr announced that he was back. "So, Keiichi finally asked Belldandy to marry him?" said Hild matter of factly.

"_Ah ha ha, you heard that?"_ replied the CEO of Heaven.

Hild smirked a bit. "Couldn't miss it!"

"_Yeah, the boy surprises me every day it seems,"_ said the Diatenkacho. "_Did you know he even asked my permission first?"_

"Oh? How did that go?"

There was a slight pause as the Almighty One seemed to ponder his answer first. "_Let's just say that he reached new heights and leave it at that_."

Hild glanced up as Alistair set a glass of red liquid down on the table and retook his seat. He gave Hild a puzzled looks, but she waved him off. "Are you going to the party then?"

"_Unfortunately no_," replies Tyr. "_I have prior engagements, but my brother will be. Besides, I don't want to have to deal with the jealousy storms Anzasu gets when you are around. "_

Hild silently nodded in agreement. The Daitenkacho's wife was famous for her outbursts when other women showed him any affection. The only one who held a candle to her was Belldandy herself. _It's definitely apparent where she got it from._

"_He loves me!"_ came a sudden outburst from the phone. Hild chuckled and looked over at Alistair as the now ashen faced demon slammed his head onto the table.

XXX

"That will be twelve hundred forty," announced the blonde behind the counter, having just completed ringing up the convenience store customer's purchases. She gave the man a pleasant smile while making change for the pair of one-thousand yen notes he hander her. Having completed this task, she turned and retrieved the meal from the microwave just as it completed its cycle and handed it to him. "Thank you, please come again!" she daid pleasantly as he took it from her. He nodded in acknowledgement, and the blonde watched as he left.

As soon as the door shut, she let out a long sigh. It was late in the morning, and the rush was over. "Shinji! Watch the front from me, I'm going on break!" she announced as she entered a code into the register to log herself out.

"Sure thing, Mara!" came a reply from the store room in the back.

As she grabbed her belongings and stepped around the counter, Demon First Class Mara let out a contented sigh. She wasn't sure why, but she seemed to enjoy this job more than any other over the past several thousand years. _Perhaps it's the autonomy,_ she thought as she exited building and turned to her right. Indeed, getting rewarded for good work was alien to her when she'd started this job. In the past, success was expected and normally met with indifference when it was achieved. Failure was dealt with in the worst possible way.

Now, when she did a good job, praise was heaped on her. When things didn't go her way, she was punished, but in a way that helped her to do a better job in the future. It was a novel approach, she had thought when she started, but it grew on her. As she worked and experienced the new paradigm, she found herself wanting to do even better. Through her hard work, she was promoted to manager. That small reward propelled her to new heights when it came to her work. Her work ethic of late had her and the store owner in discussions for a new general manager position as he looked to open two additional stores in other parts of Nekomi.

Mara smiled at the prospect, something that was exceedingly rare when she was working in her previous employ. It wasn't that she did not still work for and owe her allegiance to Niflheim and its leader, it was just that she had been so rarely called upon in the last few years that she was used to a degree of autonomy that would never be allowed in that realm.

As the blonde demon mused about her present circumstances, she was startled by someone sneezing behind her. She turns and, upon seeing who it is, immediately drops to her knees and bows. "L-l-lady Hild!"

It wasn't the Diamakacho herself, of course, it was her avatar that approached. As she maintained her submissive posture, the bronze skinned child stopped in front of Mara and sniffled. "If it weren't for my allergies, I would have thought someone was thinking about me!" she said as she wiped her nose with the cuff of her sleeve.

The blonde demon frowned and risked a look up to her superior from another realm. "The Daimakacho has allergies?"

"Maybe," replies child-Hild with a smile. "Get up please, we need to chat."

Mara did as she is told. Even though she was twice again as tall, the child was immensely more powerful, even at one thousandth the strength of Hild herself. "It's been quite a while since you asked anything of me, milady, what would you have me do?"

The child shrugged nonchalantly. "Be yourself!" she replied cryptically, causing the demon a measure of confusion. "I was just stopping by to let you know that Keiichi proposed to Belldandy last night."

"Keiichi proposed to Belldandy?" repeats Mara, dumbfounded. She was convinced that the man would never get around to progressing his relationship with that confounded goddess any further than holding hands.

"That's what I said, Mara," replies child-Hild. "Anyway, they are having a small party tonight, about seven-ish."

"A party tonight at seven?"

The bronze child frowned and stared up at the demon with a mild look of annoyance. "Why do you keep repeating what I say?"

Mara averted her eyes as she bowed before the avatar of the leader of all demons. "Oh, sorry Lady Hild, it-it won't happen again!"

Child-Hild smiled and nodded slightly. "So anyway, I'm giving you permission to go crash it if you want, ok?" She looked back at the lower demon and waited patiently for a response, but none comes. "I said, ok?"

Still, the blonde demon held her tongue. The avatar put her hands on her hips and scowled at the taller blonde. "Mara, it's customary for someone to respond."

"S-sorry Lady Hild," stammered Mara. "The only thing I could think of to say was OK, and you had already said it, so I didn't want to repeat you."

The silver haired child sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Sometimes I wonder about you Mara. Anyway, go and have fun. I guess for one night we can let them be happy."

The blonde demon looked back at her superior's avatar apprehensively. While Belldandy was at least tolerable, there was one among the trio that she was loath to see, let alone attend a party with. "But what if Urd is there?" she asked tentatively, still holding a grudge over what the Daimakacho's daughter had done to her a couple of years ago. She almost lost her job over that.

With a shrug, child-Hild waived off the concern. "Just be yourself and see what happens!"

"It shall be as you say, M'Lady!" replied Mara with a slight bow. She then turned and rushed off, needing to get back before her break is over. Turning the corner, she nearly ran over a plain looking woman with dark hair, freckles, and glasses.

XXX

In a back corner of the Nekomi Institute of Technology's campus sat a non-descript two story building. Looking at the décor surrounding it, one would get the impression that the tenants were into cars and motorcycles. One giveaway was the mailbox, which was a combination of a rear drive axle of a Toyota Corrolla AE86 and the gas tank of a Kawasaki ZL-900 Eliminator. Much more obvious was the neon sign over the front door that read "NIT MOTOR CLUB".

Inside the small lobby sat two imposing figures. Toraichi Tamiya, a dark skinned mountain of a man, sat back and eyed his tall, blonde companion. "Hey Dai, whad-a-we gonna do tonight?"

Hikozaemon Okati straightened the collar of his leather jacket and shrugged. From behind his black aviator sunglasses, he glanced to his more muscle bound friend. "I don't know, Den. What ya wanna do?"

Tamiya shifted as he thought. Nearly as wide at the shoulders as he was tall, he took up most of the couch he was sitting in. "I hear there's sumthin goin down on the east side.

"Ah come off it, things are dead all over," replied the blonde man. A contemplative silence came between the two as they considered their options. Otaki is the one to finally break it. "So, what ya wanna do?"

"Now don't start that again, Dai!" exclaims the larger man. It had been quiet for quite some time, and tonight looked to be no exception.

As both men seemed to accept that tonight was going to fraught with boredom, they were both startled as the front door burst open. Curious, they watch as a diminutive woman with short brown hair and a plain look slammed the door behind her. She then leaned against it for support as she clutched her chest and breathed heavily.

Both men glanced at each other, then back to the new arrival. "What's goin on, Sora?!" exclaims Tamiya.

Still breathing heavily, Sora Hasegawa gasped out. "Ran…..all the….way here," she said between raspy breaths. "Overheard someone….Keiichi…" A violent coughing fit silenced her.

Tamiya and Otaki glanced at each other, then back to the beleaguered woman. She was the current president of the Motor Club, having taken over from Keiichi Morisato after winning a race that would have given her the right to refuse the post.

"What is it?" exclaimed Tamiya, excited at the prospect of breaking their cycle of boredom.

"Keichi fell in a well?" cried Otaki.

Sora looked back at the blonde man, wondering where in the dark recesses of his mind that came from. She waved them off then took a breath. "Keiichi and Belldandy…." She was only able to get that small bit out before another coughing fit seized her.

They glanced at each other again. Belldandy was Keiichi's girlfriend and also a member of the Motor Club. Upon her arrival on campus, she had the entire male population fawning all over her. Despite the attention, she remained true to Keiichi. Tamiya still remembered the first time he had seen her, in Keiichi's room at the old dorms where the smaller man was getting ready to have his way with her.

"Keiichi and Belldandy are trapped in a cave after an avalanche?" cried Otaki.

Giving the blonde man an incredulous look, Sora waved him off again. This time, taking two deep breaths, she dove in as fast as she could. "Keiichi asked Belldandy to marry him! They are having a party tonight at seven!" With that said, she gasped in a deep breath, her body still trying to catch up from her exertion.

Both men stood up and looked at each other. A stream of tears emerged from under Otaki's sunglasses. "Our boy's finally gone and done it!"

Tamyia made a fist and shook it dramatically. "As they are lifelong members of the N.I.T. Motor Club, it is our sworn duty to support our brothers and sisters in this, their hour of happiness," he announced.

Otaki clenched his fists in from of his chest and he looked to his larger friend. "Right Den!"

"Go forth, Dai! Spread the word! It is incumbent upon ourselves to ensure that this righteous occasion is celebrated properly!" The blonde saluted and rushed past Sora and out the door. "I will prepare for the Motor Club Ritual of Joining!"

Sora slumped down to the ground, despair gripping her heart. "What have I done?" she mutters to herself as she covers her face with her hands.

XXX

It was ten minutes until seven o'clock at the temple, and preparations for their small party were underway. Keiichi had just arrived from a last minute trip to the supermarket. As he stepped into the kitchen, he sat the bags he was carrying down and started to unload them. Pulling out a bottle of Urd's Fallen Angel sake, a feminine hand appeared and stopped him.

"Let me handle that, please!" said a voice from his left. He turned and smiled as his brown eyes met blue.

"Oh, that's ok, Belldandy, I can get it!" he replied as he sat the bottle down on the table. The chestnut haired goddess flashed her winning smile and moved past him to the second bag, dragging her fingers lovingly across his shoulder. "Then I will help you," she said cheerfully. She pulled a large box of Bob and Gary's Fort-Two Flavors ice cream and admired it. "Skuld will be so pleased!"

"Yeah, well, she didn't seem too happy with me after the other night, I thought a peace offering would be a good idea." Indeed, Belldandy's younger sister was less than pleased about the fact that Keiichi had popped the question to her older sister. While Urd was positively ecstatic for the couple, Skuld had been sulking all day. While everyone knew that she did not hate Keiichi, it was obvious since she had joined them at the temple that she did not approve of the relationship. It had gotten better before the near civil war in the demon realm that they had assisted in stopping, but since then it was back to its old intensity. If it hadn't been for the oldest sister of the trio, he might have been seriously injured earlier buy Skuld's invention, Banpie. The sentry robot had mysteriously forgotten that the brown haired man lived in the temple as well.

"This is a big change for her," said Belldandy with a sigh. "She will accept it soon."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Urd appeared next to the couple, floating about a meter off the ground. "I doubt it," said the silver haired goddess as she picked up the bottle of sake Keiichi had sat down on the counter. She glanced at him with a slightly annoyed expression. "I thought I said two bottles?"

"Come'on Urd, that's actually your third!" cried the brown haired man. "You already drank the two bottles I bought you earlier!"

Urd puts a finger to her chin and looks off absentmindedly as she contemplates this. "Oops, silly me!" she said with a smile. She reaches out and pinches his check. "Can't get one past you, can I?" As she started to float back into the hallway, a knock came from the door. "Oh, that must be Peorth!"

Belldandy visibly brightened. "Peorth is coming?"

"Yeah, Urd called her this morning," said Keiichi as he started on his way to answer the door. "She invited her to join us." He glanced at the silver haired goddess. "And she's the only one, right?"

"Oh course!" replied the oldest sister as she used her hand to cross her heart. "She is the only one I invited."

Keiichi nods and entered the hallway. Unable to contain her excitement, Belldandy followed, Urd bringing up the rear. Just as they reach the door, there is a second knock. He puzzled over this for a moment, as the rose goddess was generally not in the habit of knocking. He threw open the door after planting a pleasant smile on his face.

The sight before him caused his mouth to drop open, rendering him speechless. As his fiancé came up beside him, they looked out at the scene before them. Over a hundred people were in the courtyard of the temple, most of whom were staring intently back at the residents. Off to one side, the makings of a stage were appearing. Opposite that, a large tent was being erected. "Oh my!" exclaimed Belldandy as she surveyed the large group.

Urd came up from behind and smiled. Things had just got interesting. "Hi!"

"HI!" replied the crown in unison. Off to one side, someone yelled "PARTY!" This caused the crowd to begin chanting the word over and over as they started to surge forward. Belldandy, who was staring in fascination at the mob of people, heard a crash behind her. She turned and looked down, only to find that her new fiancé had passed out on the floor.

* * *

A/N: The seed for this fic was planted after watching a particular movie that will be apparent at the end of the next chapter. Please read and review. As always, I keep notes on my progress in my profile, so stop by every now and again.


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